Michael Klitgaard Christensen (born 28 August 1990) is a Danish racing driver. He is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche in the GTE PRO class.
Career[]
Karting[]
Born in Karlslunde, Christensen had a very successful karting career, winning the 2004 Nordic ICA Junior Championship. The following year he gathered both Nordic and European titles in ICA Junior class. For 2006 Christensen graduated to Formula A and he achieved a second place in the Formula A World Championship and was twice champion in the German Kart Championship Winner of the Macau Int. Kart Grand prix Formula A. In 2007 Michael repeated as German Kart Champion and also won the KF1 South Garda Winter Cup.
Formula BMW Europe[]
Christensen made his open-wheel racing debut in the 2008 Formula BMW Europe season at Barcelona which supported the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, where he was involved in a potentially serious incident, flipping his car.[1] He finished the season in sixth place and as the top rookie in the rookie standings.
He moved to Mücke Motorsport for the 2009 season. He started the season as the strongest candidate to win the championship, and a victory in the first race of the season was promising. He finished the season in fourth place, although he lost results from five races including three wins, after his team lost an appeal over a breach of technical regulations[2] was rejected by the FIA.[3]
GP3 Series[]
In 2010, Christensen became the first driver to join MW Arden for the 2010 GP3 Series season.[4]
Porsche[]
In 2012, Christensen joined the Porsche young driver program. He resulted 7th in the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup Germany and 6th in the 2013 Porsche Supercup.
He became a factory driver in 2014, racing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship joining Patrick Long in the GTLM class, winning 12 Hours of Sebring and North American Endurance Cup. In 2015 he competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship together with Richard Lietz, joining the Manthey Racing team in the GTE-Pro class. Winning the manufactures championship, and finishing 3rd in the drivers championship. In the 2018-2019 FIA World Endurance Championship he in succeeded winning 24 Hours of Le Mans for Porsche.[5]
Personal life[]
Christensen's hobbies are improving on personal fitness, and training,[6] while his favourite driver is Michael Schumacher,[6] and his favourite circuit is the Nürburgring.
Racing record[]
Career summary[]
Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Formula BMW Europe | Räikkönen Robertson Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 158 | 6th |
Formula BMW Pacific | Motaworld Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC† | |
Formula BMW World Final | Josef Kaufmann Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2nd | |
2009 | Formula BMW Europe | Mücke Motorsport | 16 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 233 | 4th |
2010 | GP3 Series | MW Arden | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31st |
2011 | GP3 Series | RSC Mücke Motorsport | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 11th |
ADAC GT Masters | Vulcan Racing - Mintgen Motorsport | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
2012 | Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Konrad Motorsport | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 148 | 7th |
Porsche Supercup | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
2013 | Porsche Supercup | DAMS | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 95 | 6th |
ADAC GT Masters | Tonino powered by Herberth Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 23rd | |
Team Geyer & Weinig EDV-Unternehmensberatung Schütz Motorsport |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
American Le Mans Series - GT | CORE Autosport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 29th | |
Rolex Sports Car Series - GT | Konrad Motorsport/Orbit | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 62nd | |
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Team 75 Motorsport GmbH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC† | |
2014 | IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | Porsche North America | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 303 | 6th |
2015 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche Team Manthey | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 127 | 3rd |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 5th | ||
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | Porsche North America | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 17th | |
2016 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Dempsey-Proton Racing | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 8th |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 8th | ||
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | Porsche North America | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 13th | |
2017 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 11th |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF | ||
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD | Alegra Motorsports | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 131 | 23rd | |
Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | KÜS TEAM75 Bernhard | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 22nd | |
Intercontinental GT Challenge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 10th | ||
2018 | Pirelli World Challenge | Alegra Motorsports | 19 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 364 | 3rd |
SprintX GT Championship Series | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 198 | 2nd | ||
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st | |
2018–19 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 155 | 1st |
2019 | Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | GPX Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 10th |
Intercontinental GT Challenge | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 11th | ||
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 9th | |
2019-20 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 8 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 148 | 3rd |
2020 | GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | KCMG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33rd |
Intercontinental GT Challenge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 6th | |
2021 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 88 | 5th |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 3rd | ||
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTLM | WeatherTech Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 348 | 11th | |
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | Schnabl Engineering | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 27th | |
Intercontinental GT Challenge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | ||
2022 | FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 109 | 2nd* |
24 Hours of Le Mans - LMGTE Pro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | 4th | ||
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup | GPX Martini Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 29th | |
Intercontinental GT Challenge | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | * |
† – As Christensen was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. * Season still in progress.
Complete GP3 Series results[]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | MW Arden | CAT FEA Ret |
CAT SPR 16 |
IST FEA 13 |
IST SPR 11 |
VAL FEA Ret |
VAL SPR 14 |
SIL FEA Ret |
SIL SPR 15 |
HOC FEA Ret |
HOC SPR 10 |
HUN FEA 10 |
HUN SPR Ret |
SPA FEA 10 |
SPA SPR 23 |
MNZ FEA 15 |
MNZ SPR 10 |
31st | 0 |
2011 | RSC Mücke Motorsport | IST FEA 7 |
IST SPR 2 |
CAT FEA 18 |
CAT SPR 12 |
VAL FEA Ret |
VAL SPR Ret |
SIL FEA Ret |
SIL SPR 13 |
NÜR FEA 26† |
NÜR SPR 12 |
HUN FEA 2 |
HUN SPR 13 |
SPA FEA 15 |
SPA SPR 4 |
MNZ FEA 12 |
MNZ SPR 11 |
11th | 19 |
Complete Porsche Supercup results[]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012 | Konrad Motorsport | BHR | BHR | MON 20 |
VAL | SIL | HOC 8 |
HUN | HUN | SPA | MNZ | NC† | 0† |
2013 | DAMS | CAT 5 |
MON 25 |
SIL 3 |
NÜR 1 |
HUN 10 |
SPA 3 |
MNZ 8 |
YMC 10 |
YMC 7 |
6th | 95 |
† As Christensen was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results[]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Porsche North America | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 9 |
SEB 1 |
LBH 5 |
LGA 8 |
WGL 8 |
MOS 9 |
IMS 3 |
ELK 5 |
VIR 8 |
COA 3 |
PET 2 |
6th | 303 | |
2015 | Porsche North America | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 7 |
SEB | LBH |
LGA |
WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | 17th | 56 | ||
2016 | Porsche North America | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 3 |
SEB 3 |
LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | COA | PET 5 |
13th | 89 | |
2017 | Alegra Motorsports | GTD | Porsche 911 GT3 R | Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 | DAY 1 |
SEB 10 |
LBH 12 |
COA | DET | WGL 7 |
MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | LGA | PET 2 |
23rd | 131 |
2021 | WeatherTech Racing | GTLM | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 | DAY | SEB | DET | WGL | WGL | LIM | ELK | LGA | LBH | VIR | PET 2 |
11th | 348 |
===Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results==={| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"!Year!Entrant!Class!Chassis !Engine!1!2!3!4!5!6!7!8!9!Rank!Points|-|2015!Porsche Team Manthey!LMGTE Pro!Porsche 911 RSR!Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6| style="background:#DFDFDF;" |SIL
2|SPA| style="background:#DFFFDF;" |LMS
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| style="background:#|-
|2023
!Porsche Penske Motorsport
!GTP
!Porsche 963
!
Porsche 9RD 4.6 L V8
| style="background:#DFFFDF;" |DAY
7
|SEB
|LBH
|MON
|WGL
|MOS
|ELK
|IMS
|PET
|
|
|
!-*
!0*
|}
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results[]
* Season still in progress.
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[]
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | Porsche Team Manthey | Richard Lietz Jörg Bergmeister |
Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro |
327 | 30th | 5th |
2016 | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Philipp Eng Richard Lietz |
Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro |
329 | 31st | 8th |
2017 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Dirk Werner |
Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro |
179 | DNF | DNF |
2018 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor |
Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro |
344 | 15th | 1st |
2019 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor |
Porsche 911 RSR | GTE Pro |
337 | 29th | 9th |
2020 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor |
Porsche 911 RSR-19 | GTE Pro |
331 | 35th | 6th |
2021 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Neel Jani |
Porsche 911 RSR-19 | GTE Pro |
344 | 22nd | 3rd |
2022 | Porsche GT Team | Kévin Estre Laurens Vanthoor |
Porsche 911 RSR-19 | GTE Pro |
348 | 31st | 4th |
References[]
- ↑ Video from the accident[permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Mücke Motorsport suspended from Formula BMW Europe races.". bmw-motorsport.com (Formula BMW). 2009-08-20. http://bmw-motorsport.com/ms/en/races/fbmw/news/current/2009_08/2009_08_20.html.
- ↑ "FIA International Court of Appeal ruling confirms judicial decisions.". bmw-motorsport.com (Formula BMW). 2009-11-17. http://bmw-motorsport.com/ms/en/races/fbmw/news/current/2009_11/2009_11_17.html.
- ↑ Beer, Matt (2010-01-08). "MW Arden signs first GP3 driver". autosport.com (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80773.
- ↑ Dagys, John (2013-11-27). "Michael Christensen Named Porsche Factory Driver". sportscar365.com (John Dagys Media). http://sportscar365.com/wec/michael-christensen-named-porsche-factory-driver/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Formula BMW Europe. 2009 Championship Guide.". bmw-motorsport.com. http://bmw-motorsport.com/ms/de/races/fbmw/background/pdf/Formula_BMW_2009_Europe_ComM_Championship_Guide.pdf?lity=tn_ms_ep_6_2_R.
External links[]
- Official website
- Michael Christensen career summary at DriverDB.com
Sporting positions
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